By Amaka Okafor
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Calabar Zone, has warned the Federal Government to urgently implement the 2025 agreement reached with the union or face another round of industrial unrest in public universities across the country.
The union gave the warning on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abakaliki, where the Zonal Coordinator, Ikechukwu Igwenyi, accused the government of abandoning the nation’s university system and subjecting lecturers to severe hardship through unpaid salaries and poor welfare conditions.
Igwenyi said despite the Federal Government’s public announcement of the agreement in January 2026, implementation had remained incomplete and distorted, leaving lecturers frustrated and financially distressed.
According to him, members of the union had continued to suffer unpaid salaries, withheld allowances, un-remitted deductions and salary shortfalls linked to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
He described the continued enforcement of the “No Work, No Pay” policy as unjust, insisting that lecturers had already rendered services for which students graduated successfully, yet many academics remained unpaid.
The ASUU Calabar Zone comprises Abia State University, Akwa Ibom State University, Ebonyi State University, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, University of Education and Entrepreneurship, University of Calabar, University of Cross River State and University of Uyo.
The union also faulted the Federal Government for failing to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC), which ASUU said was meant to ensure proper execution of the agreement and prevent sabotage by government officials.
ASUU further criticised the proposed National Research Council, alleging that critical stakeholders were excluded from the process while government planned to finance the initiative through foreign loans.
The lecturers questioned the Minister of Education’s disclosure that 500 million dollars had been earmarked for the project, asking why educational development in Nigeria should be denominated in foreign currency instead of the naira.
The union also decried outstanding welfare issues, including unpaid Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), withheld 2022 salaries, unpaid CATA, pension deductions and arrears arising from the 25/35 per cent wage award.
ASUU accused some university administrators and governing councils of financial recklessness, abuse of due process and introducing questionable titles such as “Professors of Practice” and “Diaspora Professors” without proper approval from university senates.
The union further lamented the plight of retired academics, alleging that several pensioners were abandoned by state governments despite claims that they were enrolled in pension schemes.
Igwenyi said worsening inflation and economic hardship had pushed many lecturers into poverty and accelerated the migration of academics out of Nigeria’s university system.
He called on the Federal Government to immediately inaugurate the IMC, fully implement the 2025 agreement, settle all outstanding salaries and allowances, remit withheld deductions and stop political interference in university administration.
“If government chooses to remain deaf to these legitimate demands, it should be held responsible for any industrial disharmony that may erupt on our campuses,” the union warned.
, Calabar Zone, has warned the Federal Government to urgently implement the 2025 agreement reached with the union or face another round of industrial unrest in public universities across the country.){kind=link}